NHIMA advises accredited facilities on patient care

The National Health Insurance Management Authority (NHIMA) has stated that it will not condone accredited facilities that turn away patients. NHIMA Director General, Michael Njapau, says it is wrong for any health facility accredited with NHIMA to chase patients away. Speaking on Hot FM’s breakfast show and monitored by the media, Mr Njapau said the authority is aware of some facilities that are not treating patients properly.

He charged that some facilities are sending away patients due to delays by the authority in paying claims and wondered why patients were being sent away without notifying NHIMA. “We have also found that some facilities are not treating our patients properly, they are sending them away because of some delays without telling us,” he stated. Mr Njapau further explained that the contracts signed between NHIMA and health facilities stipulate that any changes or adjustments must be communicated to the authority.

“The contract stipulates that they should tell us in case of any changes,” he stressed. Mr Njapau noted that NHIMA operates an open-door policy, adding that any facility facing challenges should contact the authority rather than turn away patients. “This is a business relationship, if the facility is having difficulties with NHIMA we run an open door policy.

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We should be contacted, and say we can’t go on like this, can we make adjustments and everything is transparent,” he said. Mr Njapau said it is wrong for a NHIMA accredited facility to send away a patient instead of attending to them, stating that the move is not right by any standards. “I can’t imagine a patient who is not feeling well, get to a hospital which is accredited with NHIMA and then they are sent away, this is not right by any standards,” he said. And, Mr Njapau has refuted claims that the authority has reduced the services offered under NHIMA scheme.

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